I Never
by miss-Tami-bass
Summary: Post 1x10. AU. Every year, at Serena's birthday party, "I Never" has been a ritual for the NJBC. From sodas to alcohol, it has always been a game of fun and innocence. But this year, feelings will get tested and hearts broken...one-shot w/many flashbacks.


**A/N: Okay, I know Serena's birthday is sometime in July, but lets pretend that it is sometime in between 1x10 and 1x11 so around...Christmas? And I know Chuck's birthday is in May(I think), but just...idk, _pretend,_ for the sake of the story ;) I'm pretty sure Nate is the oldest, then Blair, then Chuck, then Serena. My story will be the same way, except different(if that makes sense...)**

* * *

Ch. Name- We Never

* * *

_"I'm bored." An eleven-year-old Chuck complained. Blair, from her spot in between Nate and Chuck on the floor, Serena across from her, rolled her eyes. She elbowed him in the ribs and he grunted in pain, "Hey!"_

_She shushed him; this was Serena's day. The blonde had had a huge party for her eleventh(she was the youngest of the four of them, which Blair had a hard time believing, considering how fast she was developing already...) but now that everyone else had left, only the NJBC remained to "sleep over" at the Van Der Woodsen-Claus(or was it Klaus?) penthouse, for once not being redecorated by a post marriage Lily._

_Unfortunately, Nate started to agree with Chuck, "Yeah, me too." Blair would never elbow _him_ in the ribs, though. _

_"What do you want to do?" Serena sighed, still wearing her name encrusted party hat. She sat up, having been laying on her stomach. __Chuck smirked, and Blair frowned, he was always known for having the most ridiculous ideas. But this time, it appeared he was being deadly serious. "How about a game?"_

_"What kind on game?" Serena and Nate looked up curiously at Blair's question. Blair was looking suspiciously at Chuck._

_He smirked again._

_"I Never."_

_

* * *

_

_Present Day..._

"I'm bored." Chuck complained loudly. The four of them were sitting on the floor of the living room of the Van Der Woodsen-soon-to-be-Bass penthouse. Blair refrained herself from elbowing him, knowing that he would most likely recoil away from her touch. Nate, feeling some sense of déjà vu and not knowing about the tension currently between his best friend and girlfriend(?), jokingly said, "Yeah, me too."

Serena, out-of-characterily noticing the tension, nervously chuckled, "What do you want to do?"

"How about a game?" Chuck suggested blandly, trying not to shake his head in disgust.

Nate looked at Blair expectantly, and she sighed in defeat.

"What kind of game?"

* * *

_"I never lost my virginity!" Chuck proudly took a sip of scotch. Nate and Serena were looking at him in awe. "What was it like?" Serena asked curiously, while Blair complained, "S, that's gross, we're only twelve!"_

_Chuck smirked as he swirled his glass, "The parents haven't had the "birds and the bees" talk with you yet, Waldorf? I'm shocked. We _are_ only one year away from being teenagers." He gave a suggestive wink in her direction, causing her to blush indignantly, "Well, _I_, unlike _you_, Bass, don't plan to lose my virginity on a whim. It's going to be special."_

_"I'm sure you have a scrapbook full of plans." He replied sarcastically._

_Serena and Nate started giggling as Blair flushed even more. "I _do not_ have a...a _scrapbook_ about it!"_

_"Ri-ight. Anyway, it's your turn, birthday girl." He turned toward Serena. __The blonde thought for a moment and, with her own semblance of a smirk, said, "I never knew someone who lost their virginity in sixth grade." She took a sip of her soda-vodka mix._

_"Here, here." Nate threw back his own soda-champagne mix as Blair rolled her eyes._

_

* * *

_

Serena nervously took in the scene as she gathered out four glasses and three bottles(scotch for Chuck, vodka for Nate, champagne for her and Blair) on the kitchen counter. Chuck seemed to be trying to distance himself from Blair and Nate, which proved to be harder that he thought, with Nate trying to coerce the three of them into conversation.

As she was carrying the stuff back over, she heard Nate say, "What happened to you guys? Before, you two could talk for hours without me saying a word." He continued talking after not getting an answer out of either of them.

"Did something happen during the time that Blair and I broke up that I should know about?"

He only meant it in a teasing way, but Serena knew that the subject was a painful can of worms for her two brunette friends. She wondered what had happened. The two of them had seemed to have a good thing going the last time she brought it up. And whenever she had seen either of them(together or apart), they had both seemed happier and lighter, even Chuck.

Gossip Girl had picked up on the sudden mood change, too. She had guessed that Blair was merely lighter without the influence of Nate, while Chuck was just happy that he'd gotten his bachelor best friend back.

So, before a war could break out, she showed them the drinks, "Hey! Lets start playing!"

She only got grumbles of agreement in return.

* * *

_As Serena raided her mom's liquor cabinet, Blair started complaining to her newly appointed boyfriend, Nate. "Why do we have to do this? The last time, I woke up with an awful hangover." She pouted slightly._

_"It's tradition, Waldorf." Chuck said, fingering his new checkered scarf. "We've been doing it for the past two years." He continued. Nate nodded, "Yeah."_

_Blair rolled her eyes. 'Boys,' She thought. "But something's not tradition until you do it three times!" She insisted, tugging on her curls slightly. Chuck smirked from his position next to her. "Well, then the times after this, it _will_ be tradition."_

_She opened her mouth to protest, but no sound came out. "Oh, fine." She finally huffed, just as Serena came back, lugging a couple glasses and bottles. __"Who's first?" Blair asked, always one to have rules and regulations. Even at thirteen, Blair Waldorf was as prim and proper as they get._

_"The birthday girl!" Nate raised his glass towards Serena._

_Serena nodded eagerly, "Okay...um...I never had...such...great friends before." She smiled softly at the end. Blair smiled too, touched that Serena would say such a thing. Nate put a hand on Serena's shoulder, and even Chuck looked surprised._

_They all took a drink._

_

* * *

_

Serena, as always, started the circle, "I never..." She sighed, deciding to start with a simple one, "-kissed anyone before." There were four sips. It was Blair's turn, "I never had a boyfriend/girlfriend." She said quickly, avoiding everyone's eyes. This time, only three sips.

Nate's turn. "I never took anyone's virginity." He looked proud, taking a drink. Serena was shocked. So _that's_ what happened. The act alone didn't shock her, but the fact that Blair hadn't told her, did.

She didn't say anything, just nervously took a sip, looking towards Blair, who was frozen. She glanced at Chuck, noting that he looked like he was going to be sick. Unfortunately, Nate noticed this also. "Hey, man, aren't you going to drink? You've taken someone's virginity before, haven't you?"

Chuck met Blair's eyes for a split second before nodding stiffly. He took a rather large swig, afterwards needing to refill his glass. Then it was his turn. The dark-eyed boy saw Blair giving him a pleading look. Serena looked worried.

He took a deep breath before saying something that had been looming in his conscience ever since Cotillion, hell, ever since the _limo._

"I've never been in love." He took a big gulp.

* * *

_"It's tradition, time!" Blair crowed, when Serena came back with the drinks. Chuck smirked openly. "_This_ is coming from the girl that didn't even want anything to do with this last year." He reminded the group._

_"Oh, shut it, Bass," She snapped, "I'm in a good mood today." Nate and Chuck exchanged looks, inching away from her slightly. Was she-?_

_Blair sighed exasperatedly at their expressions. "No, I am _not_ on my period." She said, annoyed that they would think so. "Are you su-" Chuck started. __"Yes!' She snapped. They still didn't look convinced. Even Serena was laughing into her glass._

_"For God's sake, I AM NOT-oh, hello Ms. Van Der Woodsen(she had gotten another divorce, so this was the luckiest guess)." Lily had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Hello, dear." She flashed her white teeth. "How are you four doing?"_

_They all smiled, Blair more forced. "Wonderful."_

_Lily smiled kindly at them. "I remember when you were all five years old, and the best of friends. Where _has_ the time gone?" She sighed. "Well, you have fun." She left, and the four of them started laughing; even Blair._

_"B," Serena suddenly said, "You know we don't care if you're on your period, right?" __Blair looked at herself self-consciously, even when Chuck and Nate nodded assuredly. "Why not?" Her voice was quiet._

_"Because-! B," Serena grabbed her hand._

_"-We're the Non-Judging Breakfast Club. We don't judge. We love you for who you are." _

**_

* * *

_**

Blair's mouth was in a perfect, 'o'. Serena's eyes were as wide as saucers, and Nate's eyebrows appeared to have disappeared under his bangs completely. It would have been hilarious, except for the seriousness of the situation.

Chuck felt himself turn red. Nate was the first to snap out of his reverie, clapping Chuck proudly on the back. 'Who's the lucky girl?" He joked, before taking a sip, himself. Serena fingered her glass nervously before hesitantly drinking some.

They all turned towards the fourth member of their group. Blair had an unreadable expression on her face.

For once, she had no idea what to say.

* * *

_Blair gazed out of her window, lonely. She missed Serena so much. After she had disappeared without a word to anybody, Blair had definitely risen up several rungs on the social ladder, but she would give it all(well, not _all_, but maybe most) of it back just to see her friend again._

_For once, she wished that the rest of the NJBC were here to uphold their tradition. It _was_ Serena's birthday after all(even if she wasn't here to celebrate it). But Nate was in the Hamptons, having become strangely distant ever since Serena's departure, and Chuck was probably with one of his many whores._

_Suddenly she heard her door squeak open. "Dorota I don't want-oh, it's you." It was Chuck. "No need to sound so excited there, Waldorf." He said jokingly._

_"Ha ha." She rolled her eyes, but felt slightly cheered seeing him. "What are you doing here?" She curiously eyed the two glasses and bottle of scotch he was carrying. "Keeping up tradition?' He suggested lightly. __Blair felt touched that he was keeping this up, even with Serena...ahem, "out of town". But she wondered what he was doing here all alone. "Where's Nate?" _

_He sighed, for some reason, feeling slightly jealous, "Still in the Hamptons, I suppose."_

_"Oh." Her face fell slightly. "Well, then we'll have to uphold this tradition ourselves!" Chuck smiled at her obvious excitement. Blair _was_ known for her traditions. He passed her a glass, opening up the bottle expertly. He poured her some drink._

_A few hours(and many, many drinks later), the bottle of scotch was almost empty. "I nnnneeevr..." Blair drunkenly slurred, "I neveerrr, uh...oh, I know! I've never put my shoes on backwards." she giggled and Chuck, who was currently walking the line of sobriety and drunkenness, had to bite back a laugh._

_"You're turn!" Blair laughed again. Chuck searched his mind for something to say that hadn't been said already. It appeared as though everything had already been gone through. He searched around her room, looking for something, anything. He spotted a smiling picture of Blair and Serena. _

_Aha!_

_"I've never had a friend who ran away before." He nodded assuredly before taking a sip. __Blair appeared to sober up slightly once she realized what he'd said. "You know what I just realized?" She said, voice now void of any slurs. _

_Chuck studied her quietly, sobering up himself. "What?" He asked._

_"I-I-" She sniffled slightly, wiping away a small tear that had appeared in the corner of her eye. "-I miss Serena." She admitted._

_There was a silence until Chuck finally said, "Yeah, me too."_

_

* * *

_

"I-I-" Chuck stuttered when Blair didn't move. "-You don't have to answer." Flew out of his mouth as he stood up, stalking to his bedroom, scotch still in hand. They all flinched when the door slammed.

Nate was the only one confused. "What was that?" He said, jokingly, to Blair, but she was standing up, a worried expression on her face. "Blair?" He asked, confused more. She didn't say anything, just followed Chuck. When she was gone, he looked at Serena. "What was that?"

The blonde sighed, knowing that she would have to tell him everything. "Well, it all started when you two broke up the second time..."

When she finished the story, Nate's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. "In the back of a _limo_?" He asked for the umpteenth time. She sighed, more than a little annoyed with him. "_Yes_, but didn't you listen to the rest of the story?"

His eyes darkened, and she realized that that was the wrong thing to say. "Yeah, I _did_. I'm going to _kill_ him!"

Serena gasped, "Nate, no!" She tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off, rushing towards Chuck's room. The door was ajar, and he was just in time to hear a very important part of their conversation(and no, he _didn't_ hear them, ahem...doing _recreational_ activities). He sunk to the floor, aghast. "They really do love each other, don't they?" His voice broke slightly at the end.

Serena, who had also heard, sat down next to him, comfortingly patting his arm. "Yeah," She mused, "I guess they do."

* * *

Blair rushed to Chuck's room. She saw that the door was shut(and probably locked). "Chuck!" She banged, "Let me in!" She tried the door handle. Oh, so it wasn't locked. She walked in to see Chuck sitting dejectedly on the bed. She strode towards him, leaving the door open slightly.

She felt her heart break for him. "Chuck..." She sat down next to him, but he shifted away from her. She placed a hand on his arm, and was glad when he didn't push her away. However, he wasn't meeting her eyes.

"Chuck-" She tried again, "-Look at me." She cupped his chin, turning his face towards her. "Why didn't you drink?" He asked suddenly, "Was it because you didn't-" The words got stuck in his throat, "-feel the same way?" He looked away again.

Blair shook her head, moving so she was in his direct line of vision. "I love you too." Chuck's mouth fell open, "Wha-why didn't you say so before?"

"I-well actually, I-" She looked away, embarrassed, "-Well, I was afraid you didn't feel the same way." Chuck just looked at her.

He gulped before admitting, "I think I've always felt this way, but...you know, you were Nate's girl, so I couldn't-"

"I know." She rested her forehead on his. Chuck wrapped his arms around her waist and sat her on his lap. Blair raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, Bass, I'd say you were trying to seduce me." He actually let out a little laugh. "Maybe that's exactly what I'm doing." He winked.

And then he looked embarrassed again when he said, "You know, at Cotillion, I was-I was just...jealous, you know? I didn't mean to-"

"I know." She said again. Chuck suddenly realized, "Hey, what about Nate, and-"

She looked up at him determinedly before murmuring into his chest, "We'll get through this together."

"You promise?" He said hoarsely.

"Promise."

* * *

_"We don't judge; we're the Non-Judging Breakfast Club. We're your best friends. Anything you do is something we did too."_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Okay, I know the ending was kinda OOC, but I needed to end it somehow ;) The flashbacks were the most important, anyway. And besides, I think what this fic really was about was the "I Never" game, and how it brought the NJBC closer together? idk. **

**Now that I read it over again, I realize that the whole thing was just really confusing. Wow, what a day's waste ;)**

**Just kidding, I'm actually kinda proud of this_**


End file.
